The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941–1945 

By Michael Beschloss. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81027-1.

After the defeat of Germany in World War II, the Allies (including the “Big Three” in Washington, London, and Moscow) faced the most important decision of figuring out what would be the place of Germany in a postwar Europe. 

In war the victors write the history, and in World War II the victors also wrote the plan for Nazi Germany’s destruction to prevent it from ever remilitarizing and starting another world war. The biggest question for the Allies was how far to go with the dismantling of a nation.

In his latest work, The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941–1945, author Michael Beschloss examines the pivotal roles of presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Harry Truman as well as the parts played by Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in deciding the postwar fate of Germany. 

Beschloss, a presidential historian, has published six books, including Kennedy and Roosevelt (HarperCollins, 1987) and several books about Lyndon B. Johnson. With the meticulously detailed history in The Conquerors, Beschloss describes the complex geopolitical gamesmanship between suspicious Allies, as well as the not-so-well-known but bitter dissent in Roosevelt’s administration about how tough or how gentle the Allies should be on Germany.

Beschloss always has been known for his exhaustive research, and the result is evident in this brilliant analysis of top-level decision making that ultimately would shape all of postwar Europe and presage the coming 50 years of the Cold War. Perhaps most amazing is Beschloss’ discovery of the length and vehemence of the debate about how to treat Germany at war’s end.

As Beschloss reveals, the Russians and many people within the American administration wanted Germany reduced to little more than “a vast kitchen garden.” The Russians demanded territory, massive reparations, industrial material and resources, and even slave labor. Churchill and Roosevelt (and fortunately Truman, too) wanted an economically viable Germany, a nation able to feed itself and become a bulwark against further Soviet expansion in Europe.

Both Roosevelt and Truman had to contend with bickering, rivalries, and large egos within the administration, as everyone had a plan and a strong agenda for his or her view of postwar Germany. Henry Morgenthau Jr., FDR’s secretary of the treasury, was adamant about the total destruction of Germany, advocating a draconian punishment. His position cost him dearly with his friend the president, yet his plan almost prevailed.

Beschloss also touches on FDR’s attitude and actions regarding the persecution of European Jews and why the president did virtually nothing about the Nazi death camps. In discussing this sensitive subject, Beschloss makes the case that political and personal factors were just as important as military and strategic concerns.

The most surprising figure in this impressive historical drama is Harry Truman. For a Missouri politician with no deep experience in foreign policy or military or diplomatic affairs, he emerges as a strong, decisive leader in a most challenging and dangerous period of world history.

—Review by William D. Bushnell

Member Books

Non-Fiction

A Family Matter: A Guide to Organizing Your Personal Estate. By Col. William A. Verkest, USAF-Ret.
Organization of personal estates is the central purpose of this guide. It explains how to put in place the information that family will need to carry out the disposition of an estate upon the death of a family member. This guide also assists in the organization and management of estates during one’s life and how to track important information required in making decisions about one’s assets. Using this guide will also provide a certain peace of mind with the knowledge that necessary papers and records are in order.
Brown Books Publishing Group, 16200 North Dallas Pkwy., Ste., 170, Dallas, TX 75248. (97) 381-0009. www.brownbooks.com. ISBN 0-9725592-0-5. 89 pp. $22.95 plus postage.

Quaint Quatrains. By Anita Hamilton.
This book is a nostalgic look at days when making a living demanded ingenuity as well as hard work. Life, devoid of today’s electronic media bombardment, was simple, and entertainment was derived from simple pleasures. Family life was close-knit and relationships cherished, simple gifts were appreciated, parents practiced discipline, the “Generation Gap” had not yet been discovered. Education was taken seriously, friendships endured, moral values were taught at home. Value was placed on handmade things, authority was respected, reading was not a lost art, and consciences were heeded.
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (800) 519-5121. www.1stBooks.com. ISBN 1-4033-5701-3. $9.50 plus postage.


Nerve Center: Inside the White House Situation Room. By Cmdr. Michael K. Bohn, USN-Ret.
The White House Situation Room is arguably the most important facility in the most important building in the world. Bohn, who served as director of the situation room during the second Reagan administration, describes its history and functions through the voices of the people who have been there. Included are past presidents and former national security advisors, even the duty officers who have manned the center 24/7 since it opened in 1961. Their personal recollections bring the story alive.
Brassey’s Inc., 22841 Quicksilver Dr., Dulles, VA 20166. (800) 775-2518. www.brasseysinc.com. ISBN 1-57488-438-7. 239 pp. $24.95 plus postage. 


Tanks on the Beaches: A Marine Tanker in the Pacific War. By Robert M. Neiman and Lt. Col. Kenneth W. Estes, USMC-Ret. 
Neiman, perhaps the most experienced combat commander of the U.S. Marine Corps’ tank arm, was one of the rare Corps officers to serve in both the Iwo Jima and Okinawa battles. Here, Neiman and his coauthor, Estes, relay vivid accounts of fighting in the Pacific War, as well as Marine Corps service during the entire World War II period, devoid of idolatry and mythmaking. The result is a war story told from the unique perspective of men fighting from armored machines in desperate battles against a determined enemy.
Texas A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354. (979) 845-1436. www.tamu.edu/upress. ISBN 1-58544-240-2. 206 pp. $32.50 plus postage.


Stray Voltage: War in the Information Age. By Brig. Gen. Wayne M. Hall, USA-Ret. 
Enemies of America, who have no hope of competing with conventional U.S. military forces, Hall warns in the opening pages of this timely book, will instead seize upon the strategies, tactics, and tools of asymmetric warfare to win future conflicts. A retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army with thirty years of experience in intelligence, Hall has written the book primarily for the military community and civilians interested in or responsible for homeland security. He explains the notion of knowledge warfare as our adversaries’ principal asymmetric strategy, and information operations as their tactic du jour, and then offers a wealth of ideas on how to deal aggressively with these threats in the twenty-first century.
Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402-5034. (410) 268-6110. www.usni.org. ISBN 1-59114-350-0. 219 pp. $36.95 plus postage.


The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship. By Capt. A. Jay Cristol, USNR-Ret.
Cristol’s book thoroughly investigates the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, including all official investigations, and concurs that it was a tragic mistake caused by numerous U.S. and Israeli blunders. It is based on fourteen years of research, over 500 personal interviews and more than 3,000 documents.
Brassey’s Inc., 22841 Quicksilver Dr., Dulles, VA 20166. (800) 775-2518. www.brasseysinc.com. ISBN 1-57488-414-X. 294 pp. $27.50 plus postage.


The 50th Pennsylvania’s Civil War Odyssey: The Exciting Life and Hard Times of a Union Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1861-1865. By Col. Harold B. Birch, USA-Ret. 
This is the story of the 50th Infantry Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, recruited in Pennsylvania for three years’ service in the Civil War. They fought in six southern states in three very separate theaters. The book is complete with 22 maps, 22 contemporary photographs, and five appendices summarizing personal data.
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (888) 280-7715. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 1-4033-8212-3. 478 pp. $15 plus postage.


Unchained Eagle: From Prisoner of War to Prisoner of Christ. By Col. Robert G. Certain, USAF-Ret.
Certain shares his spiritual journey as he struggled to reconcile the tragic events of aerial combat, shootdown, and imprisonment, with his subsequent life as a pastor and priest to the people of God. Upon returning home he discovered that leaving Vietnam behind was easy, but that breaking the chains of those tragic days was considerably more difficult.
ETC Publications, 700 East Vereda Sur, Palm Springs, CA 92262. (760) 325-5352. ISBN 0-88280-151-1. 320 pp. $29.95 plus postage.


Rights of Society. By Capt. William Burgett, USN-Ret.
Society includes all of humanity. There are many characteristics that are common to every human being. Society is the sum of the human relationships, traditions, customs, interests and activities of the individuals living on the earth. Every individual has a right to share the food and comforts of civilization. Burgett explores many rights that he states should be supported by every government and made available to all individuals. 
Vantage Press, 516 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. (212) 736-1767. ISBN 0-533-14284-9. 243 pp. $12.95 plus postage.


A Man’s Dilemma: Understanding Prostate Cancer and Treatment Options. By Stuart Rodney Wolk
A concise reporting of the options available to the victim of prostate cancer. Drawing on his own research and experiences as a prostate cancer survivor, Wolk guides the reader through the diagnosis and treatment options available and the pros and cons to each.
Writers Club Press, 2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512. (877) 823-9235. www.iuniverse.com. ISBN 0-595-24337-1. 141 pp. $13.95 plus postage.

Fiction

Graveyard Spiral. By Col. R.L. Upchurch, USMC-Ret. 
Two high school adversaries’ paths cross later in life when one is on the run for murder. He hijacks the other’s Cessna 182 and orders him to fly far out over the Gulf of Mexico. The cramped cockpit soon becomes the arena for a contest of survival. During their death struggle they enter a graveyard spiral, and one is thrown from the aircraft. But the lone occupant in the cockpit may not be the victor afterall. His fight for survival has only begun.
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (800) 839-8640. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 1-4033-4717-4. 308 pp. $19.50 plus postage.


Last Chance for Redemption. By Lt. Col. Hugo W. Matson, USA-Ret.
Cory Masterson, retired Army veteran had misgivings about taking custody of the kid, Jerry Swain, a high school dropout, runaway, skinhead; born fatherless; his mother in jail on a drug charge. But when Josh Billings told Cory that Jerry’s father had died in Vietnam saving his patrol and was awarded a medal for valor, three months before Jerry was born, Cory felt he had no choice. But could he and Sue make a difference? Were they prepared for the baggage Jerry brought to their home? This is the fifth novel in a series centered around the fictional town of Crescent Hills, New York.
Xlibris Corporation, 436 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19101. (888) 795-4274. www.xlibris.com. ISBN 1-4010-7695-5. 308 pp. $18.00 plus postage.


The Panama Conspiracy. By William Penn
Because of the Sept. 11th atrocities, the president of the United States wants Osama bin Laden dead. Because they killed his son, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, wants Buck and Dolly Madison tortured and killed. Because Red China wants to invade Taiwan, the CHICOMS want Fidel Castro to help them cripple the U.S. Navy by blocking the Panama Canal.
This book paints a colorful and thought-provoking picture of international intrigue and violence across a canvas that runs from Grand County, Colo., to Hong Kong, to Afghanistan, to Hawaii, and to the Panama Canal. Buck and Dolly Madison are caught up in a geo-political chess game in which they are the pawns. 
iUniverse Publishing, 2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512, www.iuniverse.com. ISBN 0-595-27010-7. 309 pp. $17.95 plus postage.

Memoirs

Another Civilian Soldier: Angaur to Chichi Jima. By Col. Russell O. Fudge, USA-Ret. 
This is a memoir of the evolution of a Great Depression Era reserve officer to regular army status with emphasis on the unpredictable consequences of military assignments. It follows the wartime actions of a high staff officer along the Japanese Interisland defense arc from Angaur to the Bonins with emphasis on the untold story of Bonnin Surrender activities.
Parker Press, Brownwood, Texas. ISBN 0-9727551-0-1. 202 pp.

Secret Shadows of Yesterday. By Lt. Col. Bruce Stockdell, USAF-Ret.
The author tells the story of his participatiion in each of these successful S&T intelligence operations. This book was written with the hope of restoring confidence in our country’s intelligence system after the damage suffered from scandal preceding the recent Iraqi war. 
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (888) 280-7715. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 075965-037-03. $25 plus postage.


Sabres, Hogs and Thuds: The Diary of a Part Time Cold War Fighter Pilot. By Maj Robert V. Thompson, USAF-Ret.
Follow Thompson through the various stages of pilot training and transitioning into single seat jet fighters. Fly with him on the very long deployment to France in 1961 in President Kennedy’s response to the Berlin Wall. Feel the pain over fallen comrades and ride with him on his last jet fighter flight at the end of a 17-year career in fighters.
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. (888) 280-7715. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 1-4033-4096-X. 403 pp. $15.50 plus postage.